


a bit of kindness (can hurt the most)

by tinycutefauna



Series: running wild (and running free) [4]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon, this is sad in the ‘character is surprised by kindness’ kind of way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:01:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28574943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinycutefauna/pseuds/tinycutefauna
Summary: Robin had been (literally) keeping an eye out for the woman who had been tailing her so she wasn't surprised when she entered the cafe Robin had been having lunch in and plopped herself down across from her at the booth she was sitting in."Hi Robin! Nice to meet you! I was doing some shopping—that's why you didn't see me this morning. Look what I bought!"-A fic where Erei meets up with Robin on the Grand Line
Relationships: Nico Robin & Original Female Character(s)
Series: running wild (and running free) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2070258
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	a bit of kindness (can hurt the most)

**Author's Note:**

> I was thinking about Erei meeting people and telling them her little brother would like/hate them (could be Luffy, Sabo or Ace, depending on who she meets) and then my brain went down the rabbit hole of Erei meeting Robin so here we are!
> 
> Erei’s less formal here than when she meets Benn Beckman because she even though she switches to formal language when she’s nervous, she wanted to seem less suspicious when talking to Robin and actively ensured she sounded casual

Robin had been (literally) keeping an eye out for the woman who had been tailing her so she wasn't surprised when she entered the cafe Robin had been having lunch in and plopped herself down across from her at the booth she was sitting in.

"Hi Robin! Nice to meet you! I was doing some shopping—that's why you didn't see me this morning. Look what I bought!"

Robin stared at the seemingly-cheerful woman in front of her but she just smiled back. Blooming two hands directly behind the woman in order to restrain her if necessary, Robin opened the bag the woman had deposited on the table and was bemused to find various toiletries and clothing.

"Isn't that top really cute?" The woman spoke up again. "I love the belt to go with it."

Robin opened the top that was folded at the top of the clothes. It was purple and flowy with a black belt to tighten it at the waist. Nothing to explain who the woman was or why she was talking to Robin so openly. It was suspicious.

"Yes, it's nice." Robin replied measuredly. She wasn't going to give anything away.

The woman seemed somewhat sad at that but didn't let it deter her. "It's so good to actually meet you! I've heard so much about you!"  
  


Robin didn't hesitate in grabbing the woman's neck from behind with both hands as a threat but the woman kept on going as if Robin wasn't going to choke her and didn't possess a Devil Fruit, "I'm Erei! Fa Erei, actually. Heard about your family and uh… that really sucked. So I wanted to meet up and let you know some things."

"It's not just the Marines that's looking for you. There's another group too. You don't have to worry about them because I'm sure you can evade them as easily as the Marines—which isn't  _ that _ easy but still doable. I'm actually a part of both those groups but you don't have to worry about that. I just wanted to talk."

Robin had held herself back from gasping at hearing there were more people out for her and was glad she did with Erei (if that was her real name) reveal that she was part of the Marines as well as a second group. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now."

Erei tilted her head up, clearing the shadows that fell on her face from her cap and looked at Robin in the eyes. "I'm going to very slowly remove my tool belt from my waist and drop it on the floor under the table. As I'm sure you can tell, all of my knives are in there. Then I'm going to kick it towards you. I'll order some food to not be suspicious. I have two messages to give to you and then I'll head off, taking my things with me. You can keep your hands around my neck the whole time. Is that alright?"

"What's in it for me?" Robin bit out, feeling afraid from how calm and prepared Erei seemed.

"Information and resources." Erei replied immediately and Robin, who had spent a lifetime dealing with liars, found that she believed her.

"Fine."

Things went exactly as Erei had said. Erei removed, dropped and kicked away her tool belt without keeping any of her daggers. Then she called over a waiter and ordered a sandwich. While they waited for Erei's food to arrive, Erei made small talk about how difficult traveling and sailing alone was and all the problems that came with it. Robin listened silently, remembering all the useful details, and eating her own food. Finally, Erei's sandwich arrived and Erei wrapped it in the tissue paper it came with.

"The first message is that what happened was not your fault. What was done to you was wrong—horrifically so. You don't deserve what you've been through and I just wanted to let you know that you should keep on going. Survive, live. Do whatever you have to. Your  _ island _ was stolen from you, you're allowed to steal things back.

The second message is not so much a message as it is a comment on my behalf. I'm not in the right position to be able to truly help you. If I abandoned everything else to help you, it would save you but not everyone else dear to me. So I can't. I'm sorry. But if you're on the Grand Line in some years from now, my little brother will set sail then. I think you'd like him—and he'd like you too."

As Robin reeled from the shock of what she had been told, Erei sighed and gently removed Robin's hands from her neck and ducked under the table to retrieve her tool belt. "I'll pay for the meal. Have a nice day, Robin. I hope life treats you better than it has so far and that we meet again. Bye."

With that, Erei walked towards the counter, handed over some money and walked away. It took a moment for Robin to realise she had left her shopping bags behind.

-

Later, when Robin was alone and probably safe, she rifled through the bags Erei had left behind. It turned out there were more things hidden below the clothes and toiletries so she took it all out to take stock of everything.

There was a leather bag and a few changes of clothes and underwear, all loose and most with the option of being tied tighter. It meant Robin could adjust the clothes according to her size. There was also a sewing kit with scissors, needles, buttons and a variety of threads for tears, patches and adjustments.

There was a set of lockpicks and a set of hair accessories. There was soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes and perfume. There were socks and a very warm shawl. There was a blank notebook and a pencil and eraser. There was a 'survival guide' book. And there was a wallet filled with real money, complete with change.

Everything was useful, everything was thoughtful and everything was sized either appropriate for her and for travelling with. There were no trackers, no poison, no catch.

Robin had read something graffitied somewhere once along the lines of that there were people who would hurt you just because they could and there were people who would help you just because they could. She had met a lot of the former but this was one of those rare times she had encountered the latter. So, for the first time in a very long time, she let herself break down crying.

**Author's Note:**

> Robin might seem a bit out of character in how curt she is and ready for murder so let’s just assume she’s had a rough couple of days (possibly because she’s used to easily escaping her tails but Erei is good on not losing track of Robin because of her Observation Haki). On that note, this is set when Erei is 17 so it’s seven years before canon!
> 
> Also technically, Robin doesn’t *need* Erei’s help but it’s so good to have some be genuinely nice... and Erei is thoughtful about her gifts because she’s lived with mountain bandits and three gross little brothers and she’s travelling alone right now so she knows exactly what Robin would find useful
> 
> I'm on Tumblr, Twitter and even Instagram as @tinycutefauna so feel free to talk to me anytime about Erei, One Piece or any of the other fandoms I've written for!  
> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! They're the reason I keep writing so I love each and every single one of them <3


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